Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	work_v	world_n	write_v	18	3	4.7537	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46373	Jus divinum ministerii evangelici. Or The divine right of the Gospel-ministry: divided into two parts. The first part containing a justification of the Gospel-ministry in general. The necessity of ordination thereunto by imposition of hands. The unlawfulnesse of private mens assuming to themselves either the office or work of the ministry without a lawfull call and ordination. The second part containing a justification of the present ministers of England, both such as were ordained during the prevalency of episcopacy from the foul aspersion of anti-christianism: and those who have been ordained since its abolition, from the unjust imputation of novelty: proving that a bishop and presbyter are all one in Scripture; and that ordination by presbyters is most agreeable to the Scripture-patern. Together with an appendix, wherein the judgement and practice of antiquity about the whole matter of episcopacy, and especially about the ordination of ministers, is briefly discussed. Published by the Provincial Assembly of London.	London (England). Provincial Assembly.; Calamy, Edmund, 1600-1666.	1654 (1654)	Wing J1216A; ESTC R213934	266,099	375

and build up those that belong to the election of grace to perfect the Saints and to edifie the body of Christ. Which Ordinance of Preaching though it be vilified and prove the savour of death unto death to them that perish who stumble at the Word being disobedient whereunto also they were appointed Yet to them which believe it is the power of God unto salvation As Christ and his Ordinances are a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence to the unbelievers So to them which believe Christ in his Ordinances is very precious and the dispensers of his Ordinances very acceptable For unto them How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace Thus Christ in his Ordinances and messengers when he is disallowed of men is made the head-stone of the corner and when the world by wisdom knew not God it pleased God by the Ordinance of preaching which a carnal world cals foolishness to save them which do believe Some object against this Argument That though the Ministry was needfull in former times yet there is no need in times of the Gospel The Saints shall be taught of God And God promises in the new Covenant saying I will put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying Know the Lood for they shall all know me from the lest of them unto the greatest Now if all the Saints shall be so taught of God that they shall not need to teach one another Then teaching by way of Office is not perpetually needfull in times of the Gospel And another parallel place there is 1 Iohn 2.27 The anointing which ye have received abideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you But as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and is truth and is no lie and even as it hath taught you ye shall abide in him To which we answer 1. Though the light in times of the Gospel be farre clearer then under the Law yet it remains a perpetual truth even in Gospel-times That without all controversie great is the mystery of Godliness And this mystery is so great that flesh and bloud do not reveal it to us That there is a vail upon our eyes in reading the Scriptures which vail is only done away by C●rist ● Though Christ alone doth away this Vail and all the Sa●nts be taught of God yet is neither the Vail removed nor the Saints instructed ordinarily without the Ministry of the Word when God undertakes to teach his Elect effectually and to take them one of a City and two of a Family and to bring them to Sion then God promises saying I 'le give you Pastors after mine own heart which shall feed you with understanding and knowledge So the Saints are truly taught of God in the Ministry of the Word because it is God alone that giveth Ministers and alone also teacheth his People to profit under this Ministry for it is God that giveth to every seed his own Body Paul may plant and Apollo water but it is God alone that giveth the encrease Paul's planting and Apollo's watering did not cease to be the Ordinances of God though in reference to the success of their Ministry neither was he that planted any thing nor he that watered but God alone that gives the encrease 3. When God saith They shall not teach every man his Neighbour and every man his brother This word not a note of negation is not absolute but comparative as where Christ saith My doctrine is not mine but his that sent me The world cannot hate you but me it hateth because I testifie that the works thereof are evil When God saith I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice When Paul saith God sent me not to Baptize And when to the Churches he saith As touching Brotherly Love ye need not that I write unto you for ye your selves are taught of God to love one another Yet in the very next verse he exhorts them unto brotherly Love beseeching them that they would encrease more and more And as touching the ministring of the Saints he saith It is superfluous for me to write to you yet in that very Chapter he useth many arguments and professeth that he thought it necessary to prepare their bounty and to stir up their pure mindes to a liberall contribution to the Saints and unto all men All which speeches are comparative expressions whereby not the thing it self but such a measure and degree is denied and so it must be here 1. Because when these promises That they should not teach every man his brother were fullfilled and all the Saints were taught of God yet even then were they taught by an outward Ministry Christ himself taught daily in the Temple He even taught in the Synagogues He sent also out his Dis●ples to teach And the Apostles themselves gave themselves continually to the Ministry of the Word So that in those primitive times the inward spirituall teaching of God did not take away that teaching which he himself hath ordained to be externall and ministeriall 2. This negation in this promise must be only comparative and not universall and absolute because then it would not only destroy the Ministry as unnecessary in publike but also evacuate and disannull all brotherly admonitions in private and then all godly conference and fraternall reproofs should be prohibited as sins which none can deny to be commanded as duties and such duties as are perpetuall in Gospel-times for all Saints at all times are commanded to consider one another to provoke unto holinesse and good works And they should be teaching and admonishing one another to warn them that are unruly to comfort the feeble-minded support the weak To restore a brother that is fallen with the spirit of meeknesse and to bear one anothers burthen and so fullfill the Law of Christ. 3. The Internall teaching of the Spirit doth not take away the need of an externall teaching by the Ministry because by the same Argument there should be no need of Scripture because the Scripture it self also is externall And this is not a malicious supposition but de facto there are many men in our times that do so far rely upon this inward teaching as to lay aside the Scriptures And if so there is no rule left to try the spirits which is ever needfull because many false Prophets are gone out into the world Then there is no way left to recover them that are fallen or preserve them that stand for every one then will wander after his own heart without conviction and the delusions of Satan may prevail undiscovered as if they were the Oracles of God Then a blinde world and a blinde heart will leade one another till they both fall into the ditch To prevent these dangers at all times God

be no Schism in his Body and he hath Ordained the Ministry for this end Till we all come in the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulnesse of Christ. 4. The Saints are to be established in the truth of the Gospel and for this end was the Ministry Ordained That from henceforth we be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every winde of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftinesse whereby they lye in wait to deceive 5. Besides all these there will alwaies be gainsayers Who subvert whole houses teaching things which they ought not for filthy lucres sake and their mouths must be stopped therefore the Ministry will be perpetually necessary for the attaining of these ends Obj. If the Ministry of Pastors and Teachers be perpetually necessary for these ends Why then is not the Ministry of the Apostles Prophets and Evangelists perpetuated for all these are one breeding and feeding Ministry which Christ ascending on high set in his Church Ans. Those extraordinary Offices were necessary to plant the Churches to lay the foundation as wise master-builders that all the Saints might be built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Christ himself being the corner-stone but after the foundation was laid it pleased the Father to leave the Ministry in the hands of ordinary Pastors and Teachers that they might build upon the Foundation even as God raised up Moses an extraordinary Prophet to give the Law and then left it to ordinary Teachers both to reade the Law and give the sense thereof for even Moses of old time had in every City them that preached him being read in the Synagogue every Sabbath day so hath the Lord appointed ordinary Teachers and Pastors and hath committed to them the Ministry and hath commanded them to wait on their Ministry and when they Prophesie to Prophesie according to the proportion of faith And as he hath commanded them to fulfill their Ministry which they have received of the Lord so hath he also enjoyned the people to be swift to hear and to esteem them that are over them highly for their works sake If the removall of the Ministry from place to place be threatned by God as one of the saddest curses which can befall a people and the removing or sleighting of it by men be charged upon them as a grievous sin Then the Ministry is perpetually necessary by Divine Institution and to be esteemed a very great blessing but the removall of the Ministry is threatned as one of the saddest curses c. For where there is no vision the people perish they are destroyed for lack of knowledge It was the darknesse of those wofull times before King Asa that Israel had been a long season without a teaching Priest and so without the true God and without the Law The famine of hearing the Word of God is threatned as the worst of famines worse then that of bread and water When God delivered up the Ark into captivity then every one had cause as well as Eli's daughter in Law to cry out Ichabod the glory is departed from Israel As it was thus in the Old Testament so in the New When Christ was greatly provoked by the Jews for their rejecting of him one of the greatest judgements that Christ threatens against them is that the Kingdom of Heaven should be taken from them and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof When people set themselves to discountenance disobey and destroy the Ministry God may justly remove the Candlestick out of his place How are those famous Asian Churches laid desolate The wilde beasts of the desart lie down there their not only houses but Temples are full of dolefull creatures the Owles dwel there and the Satyres dance th●re and Mahumetanism hath covered the face of the Eastern parts of the world as Antichrist hath done in the West The Ministry is the hedge of Gods Vineyard which if it be broken down all that passe by the way pluck it the Boar out of the Wood doth wast it and the wilde beasts of the field devour it The Ministers God in mercy hath set as watchmen upon the wals of Ierusalem which shall never hold their peace day or might If they be discountenanced and through carnal fears so dispirited that they are like unto dumb dogs that cannot bark it is a forerunner that the Flock will be devoured by the Wolves and that such a people is near to ruine It was the sin of Ieroboam and though he intended it for establishment yet it became a ruine both to him and to his house that he contemned the Ministry and made Priests of the lowest of the people which were not of the sons of Levi. Ahab and Iezabel persecuted the Prophets of the Lord with the sword and how dolefull was their end when the dogs licked up his blood and eat her flesh It is noted that the contempt of the Ministry and the oppression of the people do frequently go together Asa a good King yet being in rage against the Seer put him in prison and the holy Ghost observes that at the same time he oppressed some of th● people It is noted of Amaziah that God had determined to destroy him because he did evil and would not hearken to the Counsel of the Prophet And that great sin for which God abhorred the excellency of Iacob and sent his own people into captivity is expressed to be this that when the Lord had sent to them his Messengers rising up betimes and sending because he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place that then they mocked the Messengers of God and despised his words and misused his Prophets untill the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy And in these daies the way of truth is evil spoken of and there are risen up even among Professors those who are Retainers of a form of godlinesse and yet are despisers of them that are godly who separate themselves being sensual having not the Spirit who despise prophesying and quench the Spirit And one reason why preaching is not so effectual to the bringing in of souls to Christ is because of the many multitudes that frequent Sermons there are but few that come to the Word as to an Ordinance of God or that seek God in his own Ordinance there are very few which when they receive the Word of God which they hear of Ministers Receive it not as the word of men but as indeed it is the Word of God which effectually worketh in them that do believe Now this evil is not only a sinne against Gods free mercy but is also a sin against the sweetest of remedies How will our sore prove uncurable and our disease continue without healing if we